Saturday, May 2, 2009

I really enjoy working on this blog. It's been very rewarding, and I've (virtually) met a lot of great teachers. The only thing I really don't like about it is the anonymity.

I have to scour each post to see if there are any traces of my identity in them, because I truly believe that the Stalinist regime of BloomKlein would find a way to fire if they knew I was doing this.

I tell the truth here, so technically I should have nothing to fear. Even when I voice opinions, they are genuine and my own. But I remain the invisible teacher, nipping at the heels of the higher-ups, hoping that if enough people read blogs like this (and the many fine blogs you'll find on my blogroll) then things might change.

And the real shame of it is, I now work at a school that I truly like, where the admins are generally quite good and the school is effectively run. And I really can't even talk about that, either, because it would link me to my previous school which was a model horror show. And that school would make for some interesting blogging.

I've got stories about who was in bed with whom and I could tell you what act was performed to get what perk. I could tell you the incestuous relationships between just about every admin in an entire district and how jobs were given only by applying severe upper labial pressure to the ass of one very powerful person who still rules the system. I could tell you about the made up allegations made against teachers by admins who had no compunction about ruining a teacher's life and reputation just to tighten their grip on the staff. And best of all, I could tell you the names, because I witnessed all these things. Those people are all still in the system.

Still, I'll stay quiet for now. When I retire in a few years, I'll be able to tell all. I can't wait to become visible again.

Chaz, I agree that we have the first amendment right to say what we believe, but that wouldn't stop the Klein hit squad from going after any one of us if they knew who we were. In a way, that makes it all the more frustrating, because by squashing our right to free speech, the DOE is keeping us from having the power we deserve. We can't name names, or schools, or admins who are destructive to the school system for fear of our jobs. This keeps those incompetents safe and doing their dirty work with impunity.

First amendment rights for teachers in New York City are good only on paper. Bloomberg is a Hitler, and his Goebbels is Klein. Functionally, we have no rights, and are appropriately paranoid. First amendment rights in reference to the right to assemble are also curtailed in the city; Bloomberg had people protesting the Republican convention back in 2007 rounded up and arrested. The lawsuits stemming from that incursion are still being processed. I will not speak my mind until I retire and am "off the hook" as far as administrative retaliation is concerned. A Talk, I'm with you on remaining invisible, unfortunately.